Letter: Voter ID law: bad idea

Posted: April 17, 2012 - 4:47pm

The League of Women Voters opposes state Rep. Charles Perry’s guest column on voter identification.

Texas has long required voters to show ID at the polls. The photo ID requirement in Texas’ new law is much more restrictive. Registered voters would only be allowed to vote a regular ballot if they showed one of seven DPS- or U.S.-issued IDs listed in the law. Under this law, 600,000-plus registered Texas voters might lack the ID required to vote.

Requiring photo ID would not make elections more secure. Photo ID might detect voter impersonation, but there is no evidence that voter impersonation is a problem in Texas. The legislature’s criminal justice impact statement indicates that legal penalties in the law might affect fewer than five individuals.

Photo ID will be costly without improving election security. Documentation ($22 for a birth certificate) is needed for an ID, even the voting-only “free” ID. DPS office closures and curtailed hours affect about 90 of 254 Texas counties — several near Amarillo — and make obtaining any Department of Public Safety ID difficult for many. Texas does not provide the protections for legitimate voters unable to obtain ID that Indiana did. Taxpayers would pick up the tab for DPS costs of providing “free” IDs and changes in election procedures this law requires.

With budget deficits and consistently low voter turnout, Texas should make it easier for its residents to vote, not add costly barriers that negatively impact all voters and do nothing to improve elections.